Shenzhou-8 To Be Fixed Version Of China-Made Space Vessels: Expert

October 14, 2005

With a lot of modifications and improvements in the series of Shenzhou spacecraft capsules, Shenzhou-8 is expected to become a relatively fixed version of China-made space vessels, said Zhang Bainan, chief designer of China's spacecraft system.

According to Zhang, China has been making improvements from Shenzhou-1 to Shenzhou-6 spaceships. Every capsule has new technological features, to make the spacecraft perfect.

The design of Shenzhou series has avoided the defects of Russia's Soyuz vessel from the beginning and adopted more advanced technology. In addition, quite a number of ground experiments have been conducted from Shenzhou-1 to Shenzhou-6 to test every detail of the capsules.

As long as a final design is worked out, basic craft elements such as the shape, internal structure, control service system and data transmission will be fixed, but minor modifications may be necessary for different missions, the designer said.

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

Related Stories

Pluto is thought to possess a subsurface ocean, which is not so much a sign of water as it is a tremendous clue that other dwarf planets in deep space also may contain similarly exotic oceans, naturally leading to the question ...

Two proven technologies have been combined to create a promising new technology that could meet future navigational challenges in deep space. It also may help demonstrate—for the first time—X-ray communications in space, ...

On Sept. 30, the European Space Agency concluded its Rosetta mission and the study of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. During the final month of the mission, NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft had a unique opportunity ...

There is a lot of junk orbiting the Earth and the problem will worsen unless there are changes in how spacecraft operators operate. But it is not all doom and gloom. The first steps toward a comprehensive solution are already ...

Recommended for you

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from several institutions in China has calculated what they believe is the minimum amount of land preservation needed to sustain wild giant panda populations. In their paper ...

(Phys.org)—A small team of researchers from the U.S. and Italy has found evidence of a naturally formed quasicrystal in a sample obtained from the Khatyrka meteorite. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, ...

Pressure, temperature and fluid composition play an important role in the amount of metals and other chemicals found in wastewaters from hydraulically fractured gas reservoirs, according to Penn State researchers.

An international team led by University of Arkansas physicists has discovered drastic changes in material properties occurring in a group of two-dimensional materials that are being investigated as candidates to power the ...